Best Nikon Camera

How do you choose the Best Nikon camera? Read our expert reviews of the latest Nikon DSLR digital cameras and compare the very best deals.

Nikon is a great camera to start on your photography path, you can find a great sensor resolution and has the features to match.

This is a step up from the point and shoot systems, We were particularly impressed by the sensor, and optical zoom is great for a camera at a fair price point.

Nikon has built-in image stabilization, which will reduce blur in your photos, and shoots high-quality movies.

If you want to capture something extra special, the camera has a built-in 360-degree panorama mode – a common feature on more expensive smartphones, but rarer on compact and bridge cameras.

Impressive that Nikon is able to offer a high-quality bridge camera which will make a great investment, and accurately capture any scene.


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Best Feature-filled Camera

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Superficially it may appear that the D3300 doesn’t differ a great deal from its predecessor, the D3200. However, looks can often be deceiving, so let’s take a peek at what’s new.

Image Quality

Like its predecessor, the D3300 offers an amazing 24.2 megapixels for a great price, yet this sensor has now been overhauled by removing the anti-aliasing filter in order to improve image sharpness.

As is well known, the primary drawback of doing away with the anti-aliasing filter is an increased risk of exposing oneself to the dreaded moiré effect when photographing fine, repeated patterns. For this reason, prior to the release of the D3300, removal of anti-aliasing filters was largely something seen only on pro and pro-sumer level cameras: clearly beginner photographers are less likely to have either the desire or the requisite skills to faff around with retouching these artifacts in the post-processing stage.

Nonetheless, remove it they have, and the resulting photos are indeed much sharper for it – viewed at 100%, images shot on the D3300 exhibit impressive clarity of detail.

Furthermore, according to the manufacturer, the risk of moiré patterning decreases significantly as the pixel-count rises, and this camera certainly isn’t lacking on that front either, so, theoretically, sharpness is increased while moiré should pretty much be a thing of the past for D3300 users. Win/win.

Naturally, by gaining greater sharpness you also increase the likelihood of amplifying visible noise, yet the D3300 delivers excellent quality, noise-free images even in relatively low light.

When shooting RAW, it’s only at around ISO 800 that even the slightest amount of noise becomes noticeable (and this only when zoomed in to 100%) and photos of a fully acceptable quality are possible up to and beyond ISO 1600 (depending on the particular lighting conditions).

Likewise, the D3300’s dynamic range stands its ground against most competitors (of any price point) when shooting at a fairly regular ISO, and it’s only when pushing the ISO to higher levels (ISO 1600 and beyond) that performance begins to lag on this front.

This brings us to the second significant difference between the D3300 the D3200, as ISO now ranges from 100 to 12,800, giving the D3300 a full stop of advantage over the older model when it comes to low-light shooting (there is also the possibility to expand this to an equivalent of ISO 25,600).

Physical Attributes

While the D3300 runs on the same battery as its predecessor, Nikon claims that performance has been significantly improved due to the new Expeed 4 processing Engine: the battery will power a good 700 shots before it needs changing, almost 1/3 more than with the D3200.

The camera body is constructed from a single piece of sturdy plastic, with metal elements only where necessary – helping to keep weight down whilst maintaining durability. In fact weight has been kept so low that this is apparently the lightest Nikon DSLR (or, indeed, SLR) produced in Nikon’s entire history.

The overall design is visually similiar to, but marginally smaller than, that of the D3200 and features a comfortable ergonomic, textured grip.

  • Front view with flash
  • Front view
  • Rear view / viewfinder

Furthermore, the included 18-55mm kit lens is of excellent quality and is fully collapsible, making it a really great accompaniment to the newly slimmed down body.

The lens retracts and expands at the press of a button, allowing for it to be discreetly stowed away for storage in a small bag when not in use. For those preferring to be pre-armed for quick-draw shooting, the lens can also be left in the extended position if desired.

Interface

The D3300’s UI is simple, modern and easy on the eye. Additionally it offers a Guide Mode to help beginners navigate their way through their first steps with the camera.

As DSLRs go, the D3300 is already one of the most simple and intuitive to use – and therefore new users will no doubt get to grips with the basic controls in no time – however it’s still nice that such a feature is included. Especially for anyone finding themselves in doubt whilst out ‘in the field’, and far from the manual.

Aside from the above, the real give-away that this is an entry-level, amateur camera – as suited to shooting family-snapshots as it is to more advanced uses – is the inclusion of a Special Effects mode that permits the user to apply several image processing filters to their photos, such as colour-saturation, a retro-tinged effect called Toy Camera, and a panoramic mode. I guess by adding this feature Nikon hopes to tap into a market raised on Instagram and its associated filters, but if that was their plan they really should have included Wi-Fi too.

Indeed, if you’re accustomed to uploading photos straight from your phone you might find yourself pining for built-in Wi-Fi, as the D3300 omits this now fairly standard feature. Although fear not, the problem is easily rectifiable – at extra cost, obviously – by means of Nikon’s WU-1a Wireless Mobile Adapter.

Another sign that this camera is not really targeted at the pro market is that it comes with a built-in flash. Presumably the thinking is that professional photographers will anyway want a more serious, heavy-duty flashgun and will therefore buy an external strobe rather than use the weaker built-in one, so manufacturers tend to leave them off pro models. But that’s ok, we’re not proud, and these little built-in flashes can be really handy, especially when used to fill-in a scene that is primarily lit by ambient light.

Drawbacks

As we’ve already seen, then, the D3300 offers an awful lot, for not very much. Obviously there must be a limit to Nikon’s generosity though, so let’s now turn our attention to what you don’t get.

For a start, access to the deeper recesses of the D3300’s operating system is somewhat hindered by a lack of handy buttons or knobs. Then there’s the fact that there’s no depth-of-field preview button. Nor is there a slot for a second SD card. Battery charge is displayed by means of a three-bar icon, rather than as a percentage (bringing back memories of early Nokia phones!). And, finally, there’s no auto exposure-bracketing (but it’s hardly a huge chore to do this manually anyway).

Most user-interaction with the D3300 takes place via a standard 3-inch LCD screen.

Needless to say that at this price point the screen is of the fixed, non-articulated and non-touch-sensitive variety. The display can be switched off when shooting via the optical viewfinder, which is bright and easy to use. Sadly the viewfinder displays only 95% of image area, so be aware that some pesky elements you thought you’d excluded from the frame may be revealed to have snuck back in there once you come to check the full-size file on a computer later (though this is of course way preferable to the opposite scenario, whereby elements you thought you’d included are in fact awkwardly chopped off at the edges).

Performance

The D3300’s 11-point autofocus system performs very well in brightly-lit environments, with an expected, and totally acceptable, drop in performance in lower-light situations. In fact there’s none of that frustrating, jerky, back-and-forth lost-focus action until you really deprive the lens of almost all light whatsoever.

Do not expect such an impressive performance when shooting with Live View however, as here focus-speed is significantly compromised.

The D3300 also allows for superb quality slo-mo video shooting, with full HD recording at frame rates of up to 60 per second. An external microphone port is included, should the on-board mic not meet your needs.

Continuous shooting mode permits a burst rate of 5fps and aperture and shutter speeds are adjusted by means of a dial on the back of the camera. Shutter speeds range from 1/4000 of a second through to 30 seconds.

Metering is centre-weighted, or you can make use of any of the 11 autofocus points when spot-metering.

We found the D3300’s meter to be accurate and reliable (when used by someone who knows what they’re doing, it goes without saying), and the D3300’s automatic white balance setting is equally trustworthy: providing impressively neutral tones even when shooting under artificial lighting. Indeed, colour reproduction is highly impressive overall, and images shot on the D3300 look great fresh out of the camera, even before they’ve undergone any tweaking. So, to summarise:

The Good

What’s that you say? 24.2 megapixels and no anti-aliasing filter? Great noise-free low-light performance? For how much money? Nikon could have released the D3300 only in a leopard-print finish and I’d still be sold on it.

Also, I think that Nikon’s decision not include Wi-Fi or add a touch-sensitive screen to this camera was actually an intelligent one. The D3300 is a stripped-down and reliable photographic tool capable of producing top quality images at a surprisingly low price.

The addition of extras such as Wi-Fi to the D3300 would only have pushed up the cost of what is currently one of the most accessible – both in terms of price and regarding ease of use – tools for learning the basics of creative DSLR photography.

The Bad

Would you call me a snob if I said that Nikon probably could have skipped the cheap Special Effects mode?

I suppose some small and particularly sheltered children might have fun with it. For about 5 minutes. Whatever.

Perhaps more seriously, it should be said that this is not a camera for those photographers who like to get too heavily into personalising and tweaking their set-up, as clearly one way Nikon has managed to keep the price down is by doing away with all the short-cut dials and buttons that make access to this kind of information so straightforward on their top of the range models. Instead, anyone wanting to customise the D3300 would find themselves descending deep into an uncharted labyrinth of menus and submenus.

Don’t get me wrong, you can customise the D3300 all you want, it’s just accessing the controls that’s a pain. But then again, this camera is all about the straightforward shooting of high-quality images, so why would you even need to?

The Ugly

No leopard-print, but in addition to the standard black finish the D3300 also comes in red!

Final Thoughts

Although there are more similarities between the D3300 and its predecessor than there are differences, those details that have changed between one model and the next are highly significant: the D3300 is lighter and smaller; its burst rate improved from 4 to 5fps; maximum ISO is now 12,800 instead of the 6,400 offered by the D3200; and, most importantly, Nikon have removed the anti-aliasing filter, leading to sharper images.

With these points in mind, think very carefully before opting to go with the older (and cheaper) model, as no matter how great a deal the D3200 may have been back in its day, it has now been rendered well and truly obsolete by its younger sibling.

The D3300 offers image quality comparable to (if not even better than) that normally produced by cameras costing many thousands of pounds.

Whatever drawbacks the D3300 may have (and really, it doesn’t have very many), you will struggle to find another DSLR deal as great as this one.

Lets put it this way, there are generally two kinds of photographers: those interested in the photographic process and all its paraphernalia (big cameras, very long lenses…beige-coloured waistcoats with lots of pockets), and those who just want to take good photographs. As the D3300 forgoes a lot of the extra functions that are now frequently offered even with entry-level DSLRs, this camera is clearly a tool for the latter kind of photographer.

You may think that you need more than the D3300 can offer, but you really don’t. For old-timers or film fans out there, I kind of see the D3300 as a modern-day version of Pentax’s K1000: that sturdy and dependable workhorse of the analog-age, favoured by school photography departments the world over for many decades of the last century (and indeed beyond) for its utility as a learning device. Like the K1000, this may not be the most glamorous or feature-filled camera on the market, but it produces great images, at a great price, and with a minimum of fuss. The rest is up to you.

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Best Selling DSLR Camera

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The Nikon D3400 is an entry level DSLR powered by an APS-C sensor. Nikon’s APS-C sensors have a size of 23.5mm x 15.6 mm. This particular APS-C sensor churns out a meaty 24.2 effective megapixels. In real world sense that results in large fine JPEGs and RAW frames of the size 6000 x 4000 pixels.

The camera replaces the older Nikon D3300 and is pitted against the likes of the Canon EOS Rebel T6i and the smaller Rebel T6. The entry level DSLR segment is dominated by Nikon and Canon. This segment is directly aimed at the consumer segment. Thus, a lot of the cameras come with easy to use intuitive features and connectivity options that at put them at par with smartphone cameras.

The entry level segment has been heating up over the last few years. Manufactures are trying to woo their customers with the promise of a bigger sensor and better image quality compared to what they can shoot with smartphone systems. This segment is cluttered with multiple offerings by all manufacturers. Here we shall take a closer look at the camera and find out more about its features.

Sensor remains the same

As noted above, beating at the heart of the D3400 is a 24.2 megapixel APS-C sensor capable of producing images of the size 6000 x 4000 pixels. Sensor size hasn’t changed really since the D3300, and for that matter since the D3200. Like the D3300 before it, the sensor on the D3400 has no optical low-pass filter on it. The lack of an optical low pass filter means images are going to be distinctly sharper.

Sensor size will not make too much of a difference, at least not for those who are looking to share their photos online and probably never print. At times if you do want to make a 20” x 13” print. You can do that without ever needing to upscale the image or do any other fancy stuff.

Image Processing remains the same

Image processing on the D3400 is handled by Nikon’s EXPEED 4 image processing engine. Image processing on the older D3300 was also powered by the same EXPEED 4 image processing engine. There are no changes in terms of processing speed as a result. Continuous shooting speed is one metric that is the first to get bumped if a new image processor is used. There is no change. It remains at 5 fps.

Auto Focusing is plain vanilla

The Nikon D3400 is an entry level offering from Nikon and just like any other entry level offering from Nikon it has its most basic auto-focusing technology. The D3400 has 11 AF points with one of them, the center one, being a cross-type.

For most everyday shooting requirements 11 AF points is good enough. You can use single-shot auto-focus and use the focus and recompose technique and it would be fine. But, having said that, when you move to more demanding photo assignments you will realize that the reach and the number of AF points is woefully short.

Compared to the D3400, its nearest competitor the Canon Rebel T6i has 19 AF points. All of them being cross-type. The Canon definitely has the edge when it comes to auto-focusing.

Video shooting is average

These days a DSLR isn’t just a still shooting medium. It has to shoot great quality videos as well. Specially, when the category we ae talking about is the entry-level segment of the market. The D3400 shoots full HD videos, the same as the older D3300. You can choose between the cinematic 24 frames right up to 60 frames per second.

Alternatively, if you are only going to share your clips online and file size is a constraint choose the 720p HD resolution.

File format of the clips recorded is MOV. You can record a maximum of 20 minutes when recording in the highest quality and up to 29 minutes and 59 seconds when recording in normal quality. The built-in microphone on the D3400 records monaural sound. The bad thing is there is no option to plug in an external microphone. Even the older D3300 had that feature. If your idea to buy a DSLR is to record both stills and videos with crisp sound quality then the D3400 wouldn’t satisfy the second requirement.

LCD screen remains the same

The back of the camera comes with the standard 3” LCD screen. The screen gives full 100% coverage of the view captured by the sensor. The resolution of the screen is a modest 921k-dots. Just like the D3300 before it, the LCD screen on the D3400 is fixed. The lack of articulation means it gives you absolutely no additional freedom to compose when shooting from tight positions. Let’s say you are filming a street scene while holding your camera above your head, or shooting in a tiny room. It is imperative that you shooting in live-view mode with the LCD screen as your window to compose. Having an articulated scene is extremely useful in such situations. The D3400 does not give you that freedom. The rival Canon Rebel T6i has a fully articulated screen.

The only glaringly improved feature on the D3400, over what we have already seen on the D3300, is its new battery.

The new battery is rated to give up to 1200 shots as compared to the one on the older D3300, which gave only about 700 shots per full charge.

Connectivity is nothing out of the ordinary

The D3400 loses out on a built-in Wi-Fi connection. This is one feature that most consumers would feel is missing in the new camera. But having said that, the D3400 does have Bluetooth connectivity. So, technically, you can still transfer images seamlessly from your camera to your smartphone. You will need the SnapBridge App to do that.

Plus, the new D3400 is Eye-fi card compatible. That means you still get wireless transfer option from your camera to your laptop. Another feature that upper-end smartphone users would have loved to see on the D3400 is NFC connectivity. Rival Canon has this feature along with built-in Wi-Fi on the T6i.

Build quality

Let’s make one thing pretty clear. This is not a mid-range DSLR. It is not expected that the build quality would be top-notch either. Having said that, it does not feel cheap in the hands. Although, construction of the camera is done with a generous amount of plastic and some metal elements it feels solid in the hands. The overbearing presence of plastic elements means the camera is quite light. In fact it is under 400 grams without the battery and the memory card. There is not much of a difference between the D3400 and the D3300 in terms of design. The similarities are glaring and the differences are not apparent.

The D3400 isn’t the best entry level camera out there. It is not the one with the best auto-focusing feature and certainly not the best when it comes to movie shooting. Canon’s Rebel T6i is most definitely the better of the two cameras in terms of their specs. But having said that, the Nikon has a sharp sensor, one that does not have an optical low pass filter and that means it is possible to get razor sharp details when in the right hands. Plus, the T6i is nearly 250 dollars pricier. With that amount of money you can invest in a small travel tripod which will be an excellent investment.

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Best All Round Camera

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The D5500’s predecessor, the D5300 was a great general-purpose family- and travel-oriented DSLR, so I was excited to see what improvements Nikon might have unveiled with the latest addition to the range. However, on the face of it, it appears that the D5500’s spec isn’t actually all that remarkably different from that of the last model. But lets take a closer look now to see if this is really the case.

Firstly, before any of you start looking for it, I should point out that there was no D5400 between the D5300 and the D5500 – a fact that has apparently confused many people. The reason the 5400 was skipped is rumoured to be down to ‘tetraphobia’: a general East Asian aversion to the number 4 due to its popular association with death (the words ‘four’ and ‘death’ sound very similar in Japanese and several other Asian languages). So now you know.

With that important mystery cleared up, lets get straight down to business: image quality.

Image Quality

Well, Nikon certainly get off to a good start here, as the D5500 produces excellent quality photos. Indeed the D5500 uses the same 24 megapixel CMOS sensor as can be found in the D5300. And again, just like the D5300, there is no antialiasing filter, so images are extremely sharp.

In decent lighting conditions, noise is not really noticeable up to and beyond ISO 1,600. The D5500’s ISO settings go from 100 up to 25,600 (expandable). and can be quickly and easily adjusted by pressing a button on the side of the camera and turning the rear dial. Colour rendition is also great – although perhaps a little on the cool side. White balance is generally good and the camera offers 8 distinct white balance modes, all but one of which are manually fine-tuneable. White balance bracketing is also available.

In theory the camera takes care of unwanted dust by means of a self-cleaning sensor. While the efficiency of this feature will only become apparent over time, we can at least report that it doesn’t appear to cause any delay in start-up times when switching on the camera.

Touch Sensitive Screen

If there’s one single feature that renders the D5500 noteworthy when compared with its predecessor (and even just Nikon DSLRs in general), its the addition of a fold-out, touch-sensitive screen. Indeed, its the first ever touch screen to grace a Nikon DSLR. Fully articulating, the screen can more easily be positioned out of the sun’s reach to aid visibility. It is in any case quite a bright display, which of course also helps when forced to work under the sun’s direct glare. Furthermore, when you put your eye up to the viewfinder the camera detects the presence of your face and shuts down the LCD display, automatically switching it back on again as you move away. The optical viewfinder offers 95% coverage, which is by no means the best you could hope for, but at the same time is pretty standard for cameras at this price point.

Metering

The D5500 uses the same 2,016-pixel RGB metering sensor as the D5300 and metering modes include 3D color matrix metering II; color matrix metering II; center-weighted metering; and spot metering. The camera offers regular shooting modes such as auto, shutter-priority, aperture-priority and manual, in addition to a number of preset “scene modes” that are designed to tackle various specific shooting conditions (such as beach or snow).

Auto-Focusing

Likewise, the D5500 also employs the same focusing system as the D5300, and as such there is no notable change in performance. Users can select the desired number of autofocus points (up to 39) and focusing modes, including continuous and 3D tracking – the latter of which I’m quite impressed to find on a camera at this price point. Shutterspeeds are selectable from 1/4000 to 30 seconds in 1/3 increments and the camera boasts a burst shooting rate of between 5fps.

Connectivity

Also, as with the D5300, Wi-Fi is included. Indeed, some of the more observant readers amongst you might have begun to sense a ‘subtle’ pattern emerging here: the similarities between this camera and Nikon’s D5300 are significant. In fact we might as well come right out with it and say that the similarities are so significant that we’re left wondering why Nikon even bothered: the closer we look, the more apparent it becomes that, aside from a few minor changes, this practically is a D5300 – just with the addition of a touch-screen. Why position this as a new model in its own right? Nikon could have called it a D5300-TS or something to signify the addition of the touch screen if they really wanted to release this camera come what may. But perhaps more satisfying, from the consumer’s point of view (and therefore likely also from Nikon’s point of view in the long run) would have been to add a few more features before launching the next in the series. After all, isn’t the point of releasing a new camera precisely that it offers something that wasn’t already available?

Don’t get me wrong though, the fact that there have been very few changes since the last model does nothing to diminish the quality or usability of the D5500 in itself, and if you’re looking for an entry-level DSLR then this is genuinely one of the better options on the market. But the fact remains that the D5300 was also one of the better options available. And in fact it still is – only now you can likely find it at a lower asking price. I think you can probably see where I’m heading here…

Nonetheless, the D5300 wont be around for ever, and the D5500 is definitely a good camera, so I shan’t write it off just yet. Instead, lets take a look at what else this model has to offer.

As you’d expect from a camera with onboard Wi-Fi, many of the controls can be adjusted remotely from a smart phone or separately purchasable Nikon controller. However, it’s got to be said that not everyone loves Nikon’s clunky Wi-Fi app., so how much use you make of the Wi-Fi feature will inevitably depend on your tolerance for inconvenient UIs.

Other Features

Unsurprisingly for an entry-level camera, a mini pop-up flash is included, and while these internal flashes never give out the same level of power as more serious (and bulky) external speedlights, they can still be a very useful tool to have along with you. The camera allows you to choose from an array of automatic flash settings, including a redeye reduction mode. However redeye does not appear to be a major issue when using the flash anyway – even on regular settings.

As with other Nikon’s in this price range, there’s only one memory-card slot and no voice-notes feature (like voice-memos on the iPhone). Neither of which are the end of the world, clearly. Likewise, the lack of a depth-of-field preview button is perhaps of no huge concern either, especially when you consider how easy it use to zoom into images in order to check DOF by means of the touch screen.

JPEG’s can be saved in either Basic, Normal or Fine formats, or alternatively you can shoot RAW images in the form of Nikon’s proprietary NEF files. There is an in-camera HDR setting that automatically combines two exposures, one lighter and one darker. However it should be noted that this will only function when shooting JPEGs. Also, as with some of their other entry-level cameras, Nikon includes an Effects shooting mode that will process your images with a choice of filters. These include Night Vision, Super Vivid, Pop, Photo Illustration, Toy Camera, Miniature, Selective Colour, Silhouette, High Key and Low Key. Not that I would particularly encourage anyone to use them, but, you know, they’re there if you really must.

Video is shot in MOV format at full HD 1080, up to a frame-rate of 60p. There is a stereo mini-jack socket for connecting external mics. Video is in fact one of the few areas that the D5500 offers an advantage over the D5300, as a new Flat Picture Mode has been introduced to the newer Nikon that allows the user to retain highlight and shadow data that would otherwise be clipped when shooting video.

The D5500 comes bundled with a collapsible 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 II lens. While the retractable optics reduce bulk (and somehow also weight), this unfortunately comes with a noticeable compromise in quality when compared with the (more expensive) 18-140mm lens that made up the D5300’s kit. Furthermore, autofocus is generally very slow, and the lens itself makes so much noise in trying to find its target as to render autofocus utterly unusable when shooting video anyway.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, then, if you can find the D5300 for less than the D5500, it’s perhaps not worth spending the extra money on the latest model, as the D5500’s improvements over the previous version are actually fairly minimal. In fact the one thing we would really liked to have seen Nikon fix before updating this line is just as frustratingly inadequate as it ever was: LV focusing. Focusing in Live-View mode on the D5500 is extremely slow at the best of times, and all but useless if trying to lock onto a moving subject.

Furthermore, on at least one count, the D5500 actually offers less than it’s predecessor: the D5300 included GPS, whereas on the D5500 this feature has been removed. Whether this is a major issue for you will depend on your personal needs (although it’s not entirely clear to me what needs would make GPS so utterly indispensable a feature for anyone to be honest, but perhaps that’s my loss).

For many users, though, the fact that GPS has been ditched will actually be more of an advantage than anything, as its removal has extended battery-life by around 150 more shots per charge. Personally, if it means I’m able to keep shooting for longer, I’m quite happy to lose the ability to check where a shot was taken by means of geotagging (in any case I already possess an alternative device that usually performs this task rather well: a brain) .

Another minor change that’s taken place between the D5300 and the D5500 is a redesign of the camera’s external casing. Mostly this can be viewed quiet positively, as it pares the camera’s body back by a good few millimetres. However it should be said that not all users will necessarily find the D5500’s handgrip comfortable, as it is very small in size and the moulded overhang at the top of the grip near the shutter-release button may not prove all that comfortable for those with meatier mits.

Summary

To sum up then, the Nikon D5500 is a great all-round camera. Indeed, it’s undoubtedly one of the best deals out there for those looking to buy their first DSLR. But, then again, so was the D5300. Therefore, if you already own the latter, or can find one at a good price, then you’d probably be advised to skip the D5500 and save your money for the next more substantial technological update – or instead invest a little more cash in order to take a step further up the current Nikon range.

As we’ve seen though, the D5500 does offer a few modest ‘improvements’ over its predecessor. These include the fully articulating flip and touch screen (although, otherwise, the LCD’s spec are the same) and a slightly smaller, lighter body. Plus various image-enhancement filters such as Pop and Super Vivid and the afore mentioned Flat Picture Mode for video. However, personally I’m not convinced that any of these are worth the extra cost of the D5500 when compared with the D5300 (assuming you can find one).

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Best Upper Entry Level Full Frame Camera

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The Nikon D7100 is a mid-range DSLR with a crop sensor (DX format) making up its heart. The D7100 is the second in a very interesting line of DSLR camera systems from Nikon. In regards to features and price point the D7xxx series sits right between the upper-entry level D5xxx series and the full-frame D6xx series.

Sensor

The sensor on the D7100 is a crop one with a crop factor of 1.5x. The camera is built around a 24.1 megapixel DX CMOS sensor. 1.5x crop factor suggests that all full-frame lenses will have a 35mm format equivalent effective focal length of 1.5 times their actual focal length.

The large sensor (23.5 x 15.6mm) is capable of producing JPEGs and RAW frames the size 6000 x 4000 pixels.

The sensor has no optical low pass filter. The absence of an optical low pass filter means the sensor is capable of picking up a greater amount of detail than traditional sensors.

Image Processing

The D7100 comes with Nikon’s EXPEED 3 image processing engine. EXPEED 3 is slightly dated as the latest D7xxx camera already has the EXPEED 4 image processing engine.

Auto-focusing

Auto-focusing on the D7100 is powered by a 51-point AF system that also has a total of 15 cross type AF points. As we are aware cross-type AF points work better in low contrast and low light situations compared to line sensors.

ISO Sensitivity

Native ISO range of the D7100 is 100 – 6400. However, in extended mode it can shoot up to 12800 (H1) and 25600 (H2).

Still Shooting

Continuous shooting speed on the D7100 is 6 fps. At that speed it can shoot up to 100 frames. At 6 fps you can expect to get about 1 sharp image of a moving subject every 1 second. This is not the fastest camera around for bird photography, sports or action camera. You will be better off buying one of the pro models in the Nikon lineup for such purposes. Having said that the D7100 can hold its own and is no pushover.

Video Shooting

The D7100 is also a decent video shooter. It can shoot full HD videos (1080i) at a maximum frame rate of 60 fps.

Rear LCD Screen

The back of the camera is dominated by a large 3.2” LCD screen. The screen has a resolution of 1229,000 dots. We would have loved to see a tilting / swiveling screen and touchscreen properties. Screen coverage is 100% and diagonal angle of view is 170 ˚.

Connectivity

The D7100 does not come with built-in wireless connectivity. However, you can plug in the WU-1a wireless adapter and the camera will be able to stream images and videos wirelessly to a laptop or wireless storage.

Build Quality and Weather Sealing

The D7100 is a well-built camera. The magnesium alloy chassis of the camera comes with weather resistant properties. Having said that this is not a completely weather sealed body. If you plan to work in inclement weather go for something like the D4S. Then again we are talking about a completely different segment of product.

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Best Choice for Video Work

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The Nikon D7200 is the latest and greatest incarnation in the Nikon APS-C line of cameras. It replaces the extremely popular D7100.

For some reason Nikon has always stopped shy of giving full-frame like features to their smaller cropped bodies. Canon, on the other hand came up with the fantastic 7D Mark II and the 7D before that. Both are great APS-C cameras with features that even pro DSLR users would love to use, both for shooting stills and for video work.

The Nikon D7200 comes in the same upper-entry level / prosumer segment as the Canon 7D Mark II and the Pentax K3, being the top two cameras that would be its rivals in the segment.

Looking across the boundary that separates DSLRs and Mirrorless cameras, there are also a bunch of mirrorless cameras that are potential rivals too. The D7200 and the D7100 both look and feel very similar and thus some amount of reference is unavoidable in this discussion.

Specifications

The D7200 is powered by a 24.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with no optical low pass filter. The sensor is capable of producing large fine JPEGs and 14-bit RAW files, at the size 6000 x 4000 pixels.

The sensor itself is sized 23.5mm x 15.6mm. Being an APS-C sensor, the crop factor is 1.5x. In other words when you mount a full-frame lens on this camera the image is going to be ‘cropped’ giving the illusion that you are using a lens that has a focal length 1.5 times that of its original focal length.

Image Processing

Image processing is powered by Nikon’s EXPEED 4 image processing engine. EXPEED 4 results in better contrast detection auto-focusing and live-view auto-focusing than compared with the older EXPEED 3.

Another result of the better processing engine is directly seen in the buffer capacity of the new camera. The older D7100 that it replaces had a smaller buffer capacity. The D7200, in comparison, has a much faster speed and better buffer. You could shoot around 17 14-bit RAW frames and nearly a hundred full resolution JPEGs at a fast burst rate of 6 fps before the camera starts to stall. This is significantly better than the older D7100 which used to tap out at only about couple of dozen RAW frames and about 4 dozen JPEGs.

Absence of the optical low pass filter

The D7200 does not have an optical low pass filter. The optical low pass filter slightly blurs the sharpness of the images which reduces the chances of getting moiré and false colors, especially when shooting repetitive patterns. The absence of the optical low pass filter means images produced by the camera will be extra sharp. This is ideal for product photography, for food and fashion where you need greater detail and higher contrast. However on the flip side some of your images are likely going to be affected by moiré and false colors.

Auto-focusing

The D7200 has a 51-point auto-focusing system that is dependent on a phase detection sensor array. 15 of these sensors are cross-type. Cross type sensors can detect contrast across two axes. That means when shooting with the camera held at 180 ˚ to the vertical axis you will still be able to get a sharp focus lock.

Additionally, with single line sensors, contrast sensitivity being limited to a single axes, when shooting portrait images it is difficult to get a good focus lock.

With the same 15 cross-type AF points, the D7200 sounds similar in auto-focusing prowess to the older D7100. However, the D7200 brings the advantage of the Multi-CAM 3500 II into the system, thus upping the AF performance a notch. Each of the AF point are now capable of working even at -3EV giving you a far greater shooting liberty than the older D7100.

Still Shooting

The large 24 megapixel sensor produces uncompressed RAW files and JPEGs of the size 6000 x 4000 pixels. That is the same as the older camera.

ISO range

The D7200 has a much higher native so range than the older D7100 that it replaces. The older camera had an ISO range of 100-6400. The D7200 has a native ISO range of 100-25600. In its extended mode the ISO range of the D7200 goes from 51200-102400 compared to 12800-25600 on the older camera. However, ISO 51,200 and 102,000 is available only for black and white shooting. Good thing too because the amount of noise at ISO 51,200 and 102,000 would surely make color images absolutely unusable.

Viewfinder & LCD Screen

The D7200 has the same 3.2” LCD screen with the 1,229,000-k dots resolution as the older D7100. We would have loved to see a tilting screen to give photographers and videographers some extra option when using the camera.

The viewfinder is powered by a pentaprism. It gives 100% frame coverage. Unfortunately there is no face detection as yet.

Build quality

Magnesium alloy constriction gives the D7200 a lot of strength and durability. It can take the odd bumps and knocks and would continue to shoot. Nikon’s D7000 series cameras have fairly good build quality and reasonable weather sealing. Though, not in the same category as the Pentax K3, the D7200 too is capable of being used outdoors in moist and dusty environments. It is pertinent to mention here that in order to complete weather sealing, and this goes for any camera, the lens too must be weather sealed.

Video Shooting

The video shooting features of the D7200 are similar to that of the D7100. However, there are couple of exceptions; features you might want to say.

One of them is the availability of full HD (1920 x 1080p) video capabilities at 60 fps; albeit in 1.3x crop mode. The older D7100 could shoot at full HD at only 60i max.

A new feature on the D7200 is the flat picture control. A flat picture control allows videographers the maximum leeway for processing. Sharpness, color grading etc. can be easily tweaked in flat picture better than in a high contrast image straight out of the camera.

Other Features

The camera has a dual SD card slot. The two card slots can be programmed in several ways. Such as to simultaneously record the same captures on two cards. To record RAW in one and JPEG in the other. They can also be programmed in a way so that one starts recording as soon as the first one is filled out.

Both wireless and NFC connectivity has been given in the D7200. This makes it easier for photographers to back up their work in a studio via available wireless systems as well as to connect to any compatible device share images and further transmit over the internet.

Slightly better power performance as the camera can now shoot 160 extra frames to a full charge.

Conclusion

The D7200 is definitely a great choice for stills as well as for video work. Definitely the stand out features are the improved auto-focusing, better video quality and faster processor, resulting in better continuous shooting and better noise handling. The familiar D7000x series designing with excellent build quality and good weather sealing makes it a good choice for outdoor shooting.

Even if you have a pro camera the D7200 makes ample sense as the crop factor extends the focal length of all your FX lenses by a factor of 1.5x.

Video work is a lot more gratifying as well. You get full HD with 60p rather than 60i albeit at 1.3x crop. Plus, you now have a much needed flat picture control.

The D7200 has NFC connectivity, again an offshoot of the stiff competition that DSLRs are currently facing. The pricing is very alluring for someone upgrading from a point & shoot. However, with the D500 around, the D7200 does seem kind of underpowered. But when you compare the prices of the two cameras, the D7200 is a bargain.

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Best Smart Portrait Mode Camera

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A great little camera for beginners, the Nikon Coolpix A10 puts the fun back into photography. The A10 is super easy to operate, lightweight at just 160g, and captures high quality images with its 16.1MP sensor.

Additional features, such as motion blur reduction (which reduces camera shake), and HD video recording (720P) make this a great purchase and comfortably one of the best compact cameras available for under £100.

It’s also powered by AA batteries, so just pop a couple of spares into your bag and you’ll never miss a great shot due to a dead battery!

We also liked the ‘smile timer’, which takes the shot when it recognises your subject is smiling. Just get your subject to say cheese and the A10 will do the rest!

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Best Vibration Reduction Camera

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Nikon make some great little cameras in their less expensive ranges and the A300 is no exception.

This affordable compact camera has a resolution of 20.1MP and an 8X optical zoom. It’s a very small camera, which will easily slip into your pocket or bag, which means you can literally take it anywhere. This also makes it a good choice as a second camera for capturing those unexpected moments.

Image stability, HD video recording, and long battery life make the A300 an excellent choice.

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Best Dynamic Fine Zoom Camera

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The Nikon Coolpix S3700 is another great option for photographers on a budget. It has a powerful sensor with 20.1MP resolution.

Its focal length also has a 25-200mm focal range, which makes it great for every day shooting. From portrait to detail photography, you can have a good learning experience with this camera.

Be careful with the maximum zoom, though. You may need some stability to avoid blur effects within your shots.

The thing that probably contributes most to its higher price is S3700 connectivity options. Not only can this camera connect to Wi-Fi but it also has a Near Field Communication (NFC) feature that goes great with a remote shutter.

The camera also has several shooting modes, easy retouch features and panorama assist which will help you create great panoramic photographs.

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Best Retro Cool Camera

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The Nikon DF for first time lookers would be reminiscent of the film cameras of yesteryears. A bulk of the camera’s functions can be controlled using the built-in buttons and dials on the camera body itself. So much so that you would hardly ever use the menu and the rear LCD screen for any manual controls. Make no mistake, underneath the retro design and the ‘filmsy’ look is a digital beast, waiting to be unleased. It shares many of its features (except for looks) with the old flagship Nikon, the D4. Look wise the camera shares its features with the F3 and also the FM/2.

Sensor

The sensor inside the Nikon DF is a 16.2 megapixel CMOS sensor. The same as the Nikon D4. As a matter of fact the D4S also uses a similar resolution (16.2 megapixel) sensor. The large real estate of the sensor with only a limited number of pixels arranged on top of it means that the sensor is capable of producing rather clean images. Image sizes are 4928 x 3280 pixels. Large enough for ever day web publishing and social media posts and even the occasional print.

Image Processing

Image processing is powered by Nikon’s EXPEED 3 image processor.

Auto-focusing

The DF is powered by a Multi-CAM 4800 FX 39 point AF system. 9 out of these AF points are cross-type. 7 out of these AF points which are located close to the center of the frame are sensitive down to f/8. Sensitivity down to f/8 would be ideal when working with long lenses.

To add to that the DF also has a 2016-pixel RGB sensor with 3D Color Matrix Metering II technology to accurately meter a scene. Accurate metering and perfect in camera white balance setting saves a lot of time when post-processing your images.

ISO Sensitivity

ISO range of the camera is 100 – 12800. But it can be further upgraded to 50 – 204800 for a larger working room.

Still Shooting

The Nikon DF isn’t designed for shooting high speed and action photography. The maximum continuous shooting speed of the camera is only 5.5 fps.

Video Shooting

The DF can’t shoot videos. Surprised? Well probably the Nikon people didn’t think you were serious about shooting videos with a retro styled camera. Either that or they took the retro styled theme a bit too far.

Rear LCD Screen

The pretty large 3.2” LCD screen at the back of the camera has a resolution of 921k-dot. The screen gives 100% coverage of the frame.

Connectivity

There are no built-in Wi-Fi connectivity either. You will have to plug in an optional wireless adapter to be able to use wireless connectivity.

Build Quality and Weather Sealing

The DF is built like a tank. Not that you would actually attempt to assemble your new furniture with it, but it can take a fair bit of abuse without complaining.

Conclusion

Some of the best features of the camera are not so apparent. For example the meter coupling level on the lens mount. This enables the camera to be used with Nikon’s older Ai and Non-Ai lenses. That means if you are migrating from older film cameras and is intrigued with the retro design of this digital camera you have one more reason to be happy.

The DF isn’t too expensive, nor is it too cheap. If you are looking for an all-round camera which can shoot videos as well as stills, then the DF is certainly not your camera. You would be better off with something like the D610or even the D810.

But, if you are looking for built-in operability with older film lenses, plus the ability to control everything mechanically, then the DF makes perfect sense.

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Best DSLR For Astrophotography Camera

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We mentioned in an earlier review of the Nikon D810 that it is the only camera you will ever need. That’s only if you never want to aim your camera towards the heavens. The D810A is a modification of the D810 and it is designed to shoot primarily astrophotography. This happens to be the world’s first 35mm full-frame digital camera that is designed to cater to astrophotographers.

Sensor

The sensor inside the D810A is the same as the D810, a 36.3 megapixel FX format CMOS sensor with no optical low pass filter. However the difference with the D810 is that the D810A’s sensor has an IR-Cut filter that passes H-Alpha wavelength. It cuts down the infrared signals that takes down color accuracy and contrasts in images.

But the beauty of the filter is in its ability to prioritize long wavelength red lights. It is up to four times as sensitive to these red lights compared to traditional DSLR cameras where infra-red light as well as red light from the visible spectrum is also eliminated. Thus, with the D810A, it is possible to capture distant stars, nebulae and other formations with utmost clarity and color accuracy.

The 36.3 megapixel sensor is capable of shooting extremely large RAW and JPEG files (7360 x 4912 pixels).

Image Processing

The Nikon D810A uses the same EXPEED 4 image processing engine as the D810.

Auto-focusing

The same 51-point auto-focusing on the D810 is also available on the D810A. 15 of these AF points are cross-type.

ISO Sensitivity

The D810A has a native ISO range of 200 – 12800 which can be further pushed to 32 – 51200. The high ISO performance of the D810A is yet another USP. It can produce extremely clean images even at these high ISO numbers. In some cases the D810A outperforms even its sibling the D810.

Still Shooting

The FX mode of the camera allows it to shoot at a maximum of 5 fps. In the crop (DX) mode you can shoot at a maximum of 7 fps when using the MB-D12 battery grip with a set of AA batteries.

Video Shooting

The camera is capable of shooting full HD videos (1920 x 1080p) at a frame rate of 60 fps.

Rear LCD Screen

The rear LCD screen of the camera is also quite large. The 3.2” rear LCD screen has a resolution of 1,229,000 pixels. Additionally, you also get a split screen zooming feature to compare points on the image to check their sharpness and exposure.

Connectivity

No built-in wireless connectivity. You can, however, use an external Wi-Fi adapter to enable that feature.

Build Quality and Weather Sealing

Build quality of the D810A is as good as the D810. Magnesium alloy chassis with a number of weather sealing.

Conclusion

The D810A is a camera that is geared towards photographers who shoot landscape astrophotography, aurora and those sort of subjects. If you just need a full-frame camera without the OLPF then the D810 is a fantastic camera and would satisfy everything that you want out of your camera. No need to shell out the extra $1000. However, if you live and breathe astrophotography the D810A is a much better choice.

The improved highlight sensitive IR-Cut filter has a markedly improved performance when it comes to shooting distant stars, nebulae and star clusters and not to mention the Milky Way. The presence of the IR-Cut Filter will however produce some amount of red cast in your daytime images or images where you have other sources of light. It is pertinent to mention that the red cast in your images can be corrected later in post-processing.

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Best Full Frame DSLR Camera

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Nikon’s extremely popular D8xx series cameras have a cult following of sorts. The D800 and the D800E were extremely popular cameras tailored for two different segment of users. When a successor was planned, the company produced the D810 merged the two predecessors to form the D810.

Sensor

The D810 is a full-frame DSLR. It has a 36.3 megapixel CMOS sensor with no optical low pass filter. The absence of an optical low pass filter means the camera can capture a greater amount of detail by fully utilizing the large sensor and the humongous number of pixels. The large sized sensor with a huge number of megapixels ensure that the camera can fire JPEGs and RAW frames of the size 7360 x 4912 pixels. The frame size is large enough to produce huge prints even at 300 DPI.

Image Processing

The D810 features Nikon’s EXPEED 4 image processing engine. EXPEED 4 greatly improves the speed of image processing as well as improves continuous shooting performance in full auto-focus mode and improved low light performance by reducing noise at high ISO levels.

Auto-focusing

Auto focusing on the D810 is powered by a Multi-CAM 3500FX 51-point AF sensor mechanism. 15 out of the 51 AF points are cross type. In addition to that the D810 comes with what is known as Group Area AF. This mechanism clusters 5 AF points together to perform as a single AF point. When shooting under low light or low contrast scenarios Group Area AF is a boon to have.

ISO Sensitivity

The D810 has a phenomenal ISO range of 64 to 12800. In the extended mode it can range from 32 – 51200. This means you can shoot at incredibly low light as well as compensate for extremely bright conditions without having to jack up the shutter speed very high.

An interesting feature of the camera is its Auto ISO feature in manual mode. Auto ISO can be a life saver in some situations. It helps in nailing exposures with greater degree of control over the shutter speed and aperture while ISO is automatically set by the camera.

Still Shooting

The D810 shoots at a moderate speed of 5 fps at full resolution. While the number of frames do not sound pretty exciting auto-focusing performance in full resolution is one of the best in the business. You can switch to DX format mode for shooting at a slightly faster 7 frames per second.

Video Shooting

Though not designed for shooting videos per se, video shooting performance is very good. It shoots at a maximum resolution of full HD (1920 x 1080p) at a frame rate of 60 fps. At full HD and 60 fps the maximum video length is 20 minutes. The D810 comes with a built-in stereo mic capable of recording good quality sound. Having said that if you need proper sound quality go for an external microphone. There is the option to plug one on the D810. A continuous audio monitoring option along with the option to select the frequency range of sound being recorded means you have a more detailed control.

Rear LCD Screen

The large 3.2” rear LCD screen with a resolution of 1229,000 dots dominates the back of the D810. The diagonal angle of view is 170 ˚ and the screen coverage is 100% of the frame.

Connectivity

The D810, for some reason do not get a built-in wireless connectivity. You can, however, use an optional Wi-Fi transmitter and get wireless connectivity with the camera.

Build Quality and Weather Sealing

The D810 is a very well built camera. Though, not necessarily in the class as the fantastic D5 or the D4S, the D810 can still hold its own in most situations. It is designed out of magnesium alloy and has numerous weather sealed areas.

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Best Solid Level Shooter Camera

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Nikon’s entry-level DSLRs that includes the D3xxx and the D5xxx series are extremely good cameras. The D5xxx series that includes the D5200, the D5300 and the later D5500 tend to have slightly better set of features compared to the purely entry level D3xxx series cameras. The D5300 is an upper entry level DSLR in that series.

Sensor

The D5300 is powered by a 24.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, the same as the older D5200. The sensor lacks an optical low pass filter (unlike the D5200). That inherently means that the camera is capable of capturing a greater amount of detail and much sharper results than traditional OLPF equipped sensors.

This is a crop sensor, which Nikon refers to as the DX format. Nikon’s DX format has a crop factor of 1.5x. Crop factor basically refers to the phenomenon where smaller sensors ‘crop-out’ the extra areas of an image coming through a lens designed for the full-frame camera. In the process these cameras would give the same effect as extending the focal length of the sensor.

Image Processing

Image processing on the camera is handled by the EXPEED 4 image processing engine.

Auto-focusing

Auto-focusing is powered by a Multi-CAM 4800 DX 39-point AF sensor. The central 9 AF points are cross-type. Cross type AF points perform better when you are trying to focus on elements that have low contrast and or shooting in low light.

Apart from this a 2016 pixel RGB sensor ensures accurate metering over a wide spectrum of lighting scenarios.

ISO Sensitivity

ISO sensitivity refers to the sensors ability to shoot perfectly exposed photos even in low light situations. Higher the native ISO of a camera higher is the capacity of the camera to shoot in low light situations. The native ISO capabilities of the D5300 is 100 – 12800.

Still Shooting

Continuous shooting speed of the camera is 5 fps. 5 fps is good enough for family photos and for everyday photography but not for shooting sports or fast action.

Video Shooting

The D5300 is a capable video shooter as well. It shoots full HD videos (1920 x 1080p) at 60 fps with full-time continuous auto-focusing.

Rear LCD Screen

A large 3.2” rear LCD screen dominates the real estate at the back of the camera. The LCD screen offers a resolution of 1037k-dots. In addition the LCD screen swivels (Nikon calls it vari-angle).

Connectivity

The D5300’s built-in Wi-Fi connectivity ensures that the camera can seamlessly transfer images and videos to an external device on the same network. GPS connectivity is useful in case you would want to keep a record of the exact geolocation of your images. That may be necessary when using the camera on a vacation. Both these features were introduced with the D5300 for the first time.

Build Quality and Weather Sealing

The D5300 isn’t a weather sealed camera. It does not have the protective sealing you would normally find on a pro-grade camera like the D5. It is made of plastic (mainly) with some metal areas.

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Best Fast Action DSLR Camera

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The flagship Nikon D5 is the latest in a long line of cameras that are designed for the discerning professional who wants nothing but the absolute best. If sports or fast action or wildlife is your forte you absolutely must have this. If your career depends on it you must have this. The D5 replaces the hugely popular D4, the former flagship of the Nikon lineup. Let’s dive right in to find out more about the features of the new camera.

Sensor

The Nikon D5 is powered by a 20.8 megapixel full-frame (FX-format) CMOS sensor. The sensor is capable of producing large fine JPEGs and RAW frames of the size 5568 x 3712 pixels. A large sensor not packed with a lot of pixels means the individual pixels on the sensor are quite large in size. The thumb-rule is, larger the individual pixel size, greater is the light gathering capacity of the sensor.

Image processing

Image processing on the Nikon D5 is controlled by the advanced EXPEED 5 image processing engine. Improved continuous speed and better low light handling capacity are just a couple of the improvements that this processing engine brings in.

Auto-focusing

The D5 being the flagship of the Nikon stable comes with state of the art auto-focusing technology. It boasts a 153 point Multi-CAM 20K AF system which also includes 99 cross-type AF points. That makes the D5’s AF points exactly triple of that of the older D4S. Apart from the AF points the D5 also has a 180K-pixel RGB metering system. This metering mechanism and the Advanced Scene recognition system provides superior exposure measurement. Even where low light situations throw off the metering systems of other cameras, this system works without issues.

ISO Sensitivity

The D5 has a phenomenal ISO range of 100 to 102400. In the expandable mode ISO can be stretched all the way to 3280000. Although at that extremely high ISO levels image contrast, sharpness and overall quality is always compromised.

Still Shooting

The D5 is the king of fast action photography. With a mechanical shutter the D5 fires at a blistering pace of 12 frames per second, with full-time auto exposure and auto focus. At this speed the camera can fire a total of 200 RAW frames before buffer is filled up. The D5 is the camera you should be looking for when you want to shoot fast action, sports and bird photography.

Video Shooting

Unlike the D4S which was a serious still shooter and an OK video shooter, the D5 is actually a serious video shooter as well. At 3840 x 2160p 4K / UHD) resolution the camera can shoot at up to 30 fps.

Connectivity

There is no built-in Wi-Fi capability on the D5. However, you can plug in an optional Wi-Fi transmitter and use Wi-Fi functionality.

Rear LCD Screen

The rear LCD screen is a large 3.2” one with touchscreen functionalities. However, the D5 still does not have tilting and swiveling functionality. Viewing angle of the screen, however, is 170 ˚.

Build Quality and Weather Sealing

If you are planning to go outdoors the D5 would be a willing company for you. This camera is designed to withstand the worst that Mother Nature can throw at you. Designed out of magnesium alloy the body is dust, dirt and water sealed.

Price

At nearly $6.5K a piece this is one of the most expensive pieces of photography tools in 35mm digital photography segment available in the market. Pair a 70-200mm f/2.8 and you have yourself a kit with which you can practically shoot everything.

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Best Revolution DSLR Camera

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Nikon’s entry level cameras powered by crop sensor have always been extremely popular for their image quality and handling. The D5xxx series, in particular has been very successful. This is the series that is in direct competition with Canon’s Rebel series crop sensor cameras. The recently released Nikon D5600 is the latest in a long line of extremely popular cameras. Let’s find out more about it.

Sensor

The D5600 comes powered with the same 24.2 megapixel sensor that the D5500 came with. Just like the D5500 before it the sensor on the D5600 do not have an anti-aliasing filter. The absence of the anti-aliasing filter means the sensor can pick up a much higher amount of detail. At the same time, the sensor is likely going to suffer from moiré and false colors, especially when photographing fine repeating patterns.

Image processing

Image processing hasn’t improved since the D5500. Nikon has persisted with the EXPEED 4 image processing engine just like the previous camera.

SnapBridge

This is the first camera in the D5xxx series that comes with Nikon’s SnapBridge technology. The connection is established using Bluetooth. Once connection is made, images can be automatically and seamlessly transferred from the camera to a compatible device. You can further set-up Nikon Image Space and have your images uploaded seamlessly as they are shot. This works perfectly when you are outdoors shooting and want to have a backup copy of the images for safety or for someone editing your images back home.

The SnapBridge connectivity allows your compatible smartphone to be used as a remote for your camera. You can adjust some settings and make your exposures without ever having to physically touch the camera.

Additionally, when shooting videos the faster Wi-Fi connection is used to transfer movie clips to a compatible smartphone / device.

Auto-focusing

Auto-focusing hasn’t been upgraded either. The same Multi-CAM 4800DX 39-point AF sensor powered auto-focusing, just as the older D5500, remains. 9 out of those AF sensors are cross-types. The camera also employs a separate 2016 pixel RGB sensor to assist in 3D tracking of moving subjects. Apart from the phase detection sensors, the camera also has contrast detect sensor powered auto-focusing when shooting in live-view.

ISO Sensitivity

ISO sensitivity on the new D5600 also remains the same. The native ISO range is 100-25600.

Still Shooting

Make no mistake about it, the new D5600 isn’t cut out for sports or fast action or bird photography. You need something faster and of course with a much larger sensor with a clean ISO performance than the one on the D5600. The fastest this camera can shoot on continuous mode is 5 fps, far from at least the 8 frames per second that you need for shooting action.

Then again, this camera is not designed for that kind of tasks. It is an excellent all-round performer. You can shoot everyday photos, vacations, weddings, engagements, flower, food, landscape and everything else that you may fancy.

The D5600 has a built-in time-lapse feature. You won’t need an intervalometer for the purpose of doing interval shooting.

Video Shooting

The D5600 is a capable video shooter as well. It shoots full HD videos at a maximum of 60 fps. Built-in stereo microphone is also provided.

Connectivity

Apart from Bluetooth SnapBridge connectivity, the new D5600 also has NFC and built-in Wi-Fi capabilities.

Rear LCD Screen

The rear LCD screen retains the same 3.2” dimensions and 1.037m-dot resolution as the older D5500. The vari-angle nature of the screen ensures that you can shoot from hitherto impossible angles without having to break your back.

Build Quality and Weather Sealing
Not much is provided about the weather sealing capabilities of the camera. Going by the existing cameras in the line-up it is safe to assume that the D5600 is not a weather sealed camera.

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Best DX Format Camera

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The Nikon D500 is the latest and the greatest DX format camera that had ever come out of the Nikon assembly line. It has speed that would rival the likes of the D4, it has extremely high ISO sensitivity, and it is loaded with features that easily makes it an irresistible option even for die-hard full-frame users. Make no mistake, the D500 is easily a monster wearing a sheep skin, a camera that can knock the wind out of a number of highly fancied full-frame systems in terms of performance and handling. In this review we shall be taking a closer look at its features and try to find out why it kicked a storm in the photography arena.

Specifications

Let’s start with the sensor. The D500 is powered by a newly developed 20.9 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor. Nikon has uses EXPEED 5 image processor in this camera. The D500 clocks the fastest speed when it comes to DX format cameras. It can shoot at a phenomenal 10 fps rate. Speed without the associated buffer is meaningless. The D500 has the buffer to back up its phenomenal shooting speed. It can shoot up to 79 RAW frames before the buffer overruns.

DX format cameras offer a huge advantage to photographers who love shooting with their full-frame lenses. The 1.5x crop factor propels a lens to a longer focal length, without the associated drop in maximum aperture. Thus, if you have a 300mm lens, with the D500 your lens becomes the 35mm format equivalent of 450mm. It becomes a fantastic lens for photographing birds and wildlife. The camera has a 153-point AF system, out of which 55 are selectable. The biggest draw is definitely 4K / UHD shooting abilities.

Image Processing

Powering the image processing unit is Nikon’s EXPEED 5 image processor.

Auto-focusing on the D500 is powered by a 153-point Multi-CAM 20K system. The AF points are distributed across almost the entire viewfinder. This makes it extremely easy to lock focus regardless of the position your subject is in the frame and then track focus as it moves across the frame. 99 of these sensors are cross-type. You can, however, only select 55 of these. The rest will remain invisible and be used for subject tracking.

The number of available selectable points will keep getting diminished as you use older (Nikon says non AF-S) lenses and lenses which have smaller maximum apertures. A total of 15 of these are usable even when shooting with a lens with a maximum aperture of f/8. 9 out of which will be selectable. All 153 of these points can lock focus at an EV of -4.
In actual shooting auto-focusing performance has been very good. Initial focus locking is snappy. Once focus is locked the 153-point system is quite reliable most of the times to keep focus lock, even if the subject moves about. Still focusing with auto-focus is instantaneous.

Still Shooting

We have already read about the shooting speed and buffer capabilities of the camera. The D500 would make sports, action and wildlife shooters happy. It has an incredible shooting speed with full Auto-Exposure and Auto-Focus. RAW performance is impeccable. JPEG quality is slightly less par in quality.

ISO range

One of the greatest things about the D500 is its low light shooting abilities. The native ISO on the D500 ranges up to 51200. On extended mode it goes to a ridiculous level of 1640000. But that is beside the point. It is not the ability to shoot at such high ISO levels but whether the camera is capable of producing usable files is what matters. The Nikon D7200, before the D500, had been the undisputed APS-C champion in that regard. The D500, if not better than that is a close match.

Viewfinder & LCD Screen

The rear side of the D500 is dominated by a 3.2” 2359k-dot tilting RGB touchscreen capable LCD screen. The touchscreen capabilities of the LCD screen has profound implications. It not only responds to menu selection, but for those with dexterity and preciseness in mind, the D500 has the ability to focus on touch.

A promotional video showed action and adventure photographer Keith Ladzinski using touch to focus feature of the camera while photographing climbers while being suspended off a cliff 500’ in the air.

You don’t always have to go that extreme to make use of that feature. You could shoot videos while planted firmly on terra firma and yet get excellent results with the tilt-screen.

The D500 and the D5 launched at the same time. As a sort of announcement to the whole world that Nikon is ready to challenge the world in both formats. The D500 shares many of the build qualities that are incorporated into the D5. The D500 has a magnesium alloy construction. This gives the camera a rugged solidity. On top of that the camera has carbon fiber composites. This makes it lightweight and yet durable.

The D500 is designed as an upgrade of the grand-daddy of DX cameras, the D300S. The look and feel of the camera is somewhat similar to that one. While the outgoing champ, the D7200, is definitely more boxy, the D500 is more laid out. The positioning of the buttons as well as the overall genomics are however, highly subjective and you may or may not agree with third party opinion.

Video Shooting

The D500 is one of the few DSLRs that comes with the ability to shoot native UHD/4K video footages. UHD video recording uses a 1.5x crop of the sensor. Effectively that makes a normal 35mm format lens become 2.25 times longer. When shooting full HD, the crop is 1.3x times. Thus, a normal 35mm format lens produces a focal length 1.95x its original focal length. When shooting full HD, however, the entire length and breadth of the sensor is utilized.

As you can imagine with the full sensor being utilized, this produces the widest angle of view together with the shallowest depth of field possible. The higher the video resolution, the smaller the sensor area being used the more the depth of field. This is important to remember when selecting the video resolution for your shoots.

Frames are variable as you can imagine. At 4K / UHD you can shoot at 30, 25 and 24p. At full HD you can shoot at up to 60p. There is an important addition on the D500 and that is highlight warning. This feature like the zebra functions warns you when you have clipped your highlights.

Having said that, however, there are some important omissions which will not please professional cinematographers or users looking to use this for serious video shooting. There is no focus peaking when shooting manually. You are stuck relying on your eyes or use some external options.

The D500 has traditional contrast detect auto-focusing in live-view / video mode. This is reliable but nearly as effective when it comes to dual-pixel CMOS auto-focusing that drives the rival Canon flagship APS-C system. For Nikon shooters this is one area where the D500 would lose out to the 7D Mark II.

First up is the SnapBridge Connectivity. The D500 is one of the few cameras that Nikon makes that comes with SnapBridge connectivity. This technology allows easy transfer of images and videos. It also has BLE or Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity as well. The speed of Bluetooth transfer however is far from being convincing as is the general experience. With the app, however, and when you are connected to a Wi-Fi network you can transfer your images to the cloud.

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Best Digital SLR Camera

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Free your vision with Nikon D750! This is the perfect camera for the photographer who wants a camera which is one step down from the pro models.

You get the low-light flexibility that comes with a full-frame sensor, and some additional features that are generally left out of the top models.

This camera is quite easy to handle and gives very productive output. It’s no wonder the D750 was the most hotly anticipated camera in the market.

Packed with an array of powerful features, like the ability to shoot full HD movies and inbuilt Wi-Fi, the D750 will take your digital photography to the next level.

Features

The D750 Camera is Nikon’s third DSLR this year.

Falling between more affordable cameras like D610 and the high-resolution D810, it does a good job of including the good qualities of both of those cameras.

The D750 also offers faster and more continuous shooting than the D810.

Images and videos

With a full-frame 24MP sensor and dynamic range of 12.9EV, this Nikon’s camera is capable of shooting exceptional images. Even better, you can maximise every detail with the post-shoot mode, which avoids clipping in highlights while shooting.

shots are almost inaudible up to ISO 400.

The standard ISO range is 100 – 12800, but it can be expanded up to 25,600 and down to ISO 50.

As for videos, this camera can shoot HD 1080p videos at 60 frames per second. Unfortunately, you will not be able to make 4K capture.

Full Specifications

EXPEED 4 Image Processor
Has full HD 1080p Video Recording at 60 fps
24-MP full frame CMOS sensor with AA filter
Flip up and down 3.2’’1 229k-dot RGBW LCD screen
6.5 fps continuous shooting
Improved 51- point Multi-CAM 3500FX II AF system which is sensitive to -3 EV
Detects the face with the 91,000-pixel RGB metering sensor.
Spot-metering is linked to AF point
Inbuilt Wi-Fi
Power aperture for control during live video
Group area AF mode
Simultaneous internal recording and HDMI output

Rate On The Market

The D750 has an MSRP of $2299/£1799 body only or $3599/£2349 with the 24-120mm F4G lens.

In Europe, you will have to pay around €2150 for the body and £2700 if you buy this camera with the 24-85mm F3.5-4.5G lens.

In Summary

Pros

  • AF performance is excellent
  • The image quality is exceptional
  • Easy to handle

Cons

  • Manual control feature like that of D810 is missing in this camera
  • Although this is a very high quality digital camera with great features, the price is fairly high

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Best Optical Zoom Camera

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As a low cost super zoom bridge camera, the Nikon Coolpix L340 is an update of the L330.

The main selling point of the camera is the 28x optical zoom which allows for 35mm equivalent focal range of 22.5 – 630 mm.

The camera is powered by four standard AA batteries which means that they are not rechargeable. It also has a 20.2 MP sensor that allows the user, whether a beginner or a professional, to be able to capture high quality photos and videos.

The camera has been reasonably priced which makes it affordable to the users.

Photo and video quality

The Nikon Coolpix L340 has a 20.2 MP CCD image sensor that allows the user to capture stunning images when on vacation, during bird watching or when visiting the zoo. The image sensor provides clear details of an object which makes it great as a poster or photo.

The sensor places the user right at the heart of the 28x optical zoom lens which is extendable to 56x Dynamic Fine Zoom. You can capture smooth Full HD videos easily thanks to the high performance vibration reduction which helps to keep the camera stable. The easy to hold grip helps to minimize the camera shake too.

You can finally record life stunning scenes effortlessly in high quality images with the Nikon Coolpix L340 bridge camera.

Battery and its performance

It is powered by standard AA batteries and you require four of them in order to operate the camera. This makes it suitable for taking on vacation as you will not need to keep recharging it. The batteries are readily available around the globe and you can purchase them at an affordable rate.

Nikon Image Space

Thanks to the cloud, Nikon has offered buyers of the camera with 20GB of online storage which is sufficient for storing images and videos. It also frees up the camera’s own storage allowing the user to continue capturing more photos and videos. The 20GB cloud storage is free for all Nikon users.

High performance vibration reduction

Your photos will look stunning always as well as your videos and they will have minimum blur. This is attributed to the Lens-shift VR which helps to combat camera shake while the easy-hold grip provides your camera with stability.

Wide angle coverage

As a photographer, whether you are shooting a celebration (wedding and birthday party) or any other family fun event, you will be able to be close to the actions as the zoom lens will provide you with a wide angle view to telephoto coverage.

Other Highlights
  • It has target finding AF capability that allows the user to capture beautiful and crisp photos every time. The feature works quickly and precisely by locating the subject for you allowing it to achieve clear focus automatically.
  • The scene auto selector is perfect as the camera gets to do the hard work for you. It will automatically assess the subject and shooting scene finally optimizing the settings for best results.
  • The large 7.5 cm/3 inch 460K-dot LCD screen has an anti reflection coating that provides great visibility especially when framing shots and during playback.
  • It has the expeed C2 which assures the user of outstanding image quality thanks to Nikon’s fast and powerful image processing system.
  • It is easy to operate as it offers a comfortable grip and simply laid out controls which make operating the camera to feel intuitive and natural. You can switch easily from photos to movies at the touch of a button.
  • The Nikkor 28x optical zoom lens allows the user to capture expressions or distant action. It can be extended to a 56x Dynamic Fine zoom which gives you a focal length coverage of 22.5 – 630mm. The Dynamic fine zoom is able to zoom 2x further than the longest optical telephoto range while maintaining image resolution.
Lightweight and better handling

Users have cited that the Nikon Coolpix L340 Bridge Camera is lightweight and has better handling. This is attributed to the high performance VR feature which allows for clear images and movies with minimum blur as it helps to combat camera shake. The easy hold grip ensures that the camera always stays stable.

The Nikon Coolpix L340 Bridge Camera – Most Affordable, Easy to operate and easy to handle camera

This is a perfect camera for both novice and professional users thanks to the easy to use controls located on the camera. It has the high performance VR feature that reduces camera shake and the easy hold grip which makes it stable when shooting.

You can never go wrong when you purchase the camera as it is affordable and is powered by four AA batteries.

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